Blog Post

A successful Initial Coin Offering (ICO) launch must be backed by solid community support; ICOs fail for a variety of reasons, but lack of support and engagement is one of the biggest. You may have a fantastic idea for tokenization, but without putting the building blocks in play to generate a community of interest, the idea is doomed to fail. Community engagement means everything to an ICO and this part of your strategy cannot be overlooked or taken lightly. As you make plans to launch an ICO, spend plenty of time considering the ways in which you will seek and secure community engagement through ICO marketing. We will explore some ideas to get you off and running and we’ll also take a quick look at how ICOs work.

What Is an ICO and How Does it Work?

The world of cryptocurrency is high-risk and high-reward, so ICOs are attracting many entrepreneurs and investors who are willing to gamble on something that is mostly unregulated. Virtually anyone can create an ICO (provided they have the funding and the technical know how to get started), and because of this may turn out to be scams or just bad ideas in general. But the tokenization of a project with merit can turn out to be quite successful if managed appropriately. Your ICO attaches a currency to a specific good or service, with the hope that future demand will increase the value of that currency.

ICOs are powered by blockchain technology and cryptocurrency exchange (such as token sale and similar); therefore, if you do not have someone on your team with this expertise, the proposal is a nonstarter. (And anyone considering investing in an ICO should do their homework to ensure the project is backed by blockchain expertise!) All ICOs should be supported by a thoroughly researched and detailed white paper, outlining the expertise of the team members, the overarching vision of the project, a strategic timeline, and projections and other data. If you can get past all of these hurdles, if you have assembled the right expertise for your project and have coupled tokenization with a consumer idea that has merit, then you are ready to seek community support.

How Do I Get Community Support for my ICO?

There is a tremendous amount of activity surrounding ICOs, including the “mixed blessing” of advertising bans on sites such as Facebook and Google. (We’ll call this a “mixed blessing” because some analysts predict it may help the industry in the long run.) Cryptocurrency attracts scammers, especially because it is such an unregulated industry. Therefore, when trying to build community support you are already facing a significant barrier of cynicism. But this can be overcome! It is possible to create the community engagement you need by taking some proactive steps.

When in Doubt: Outsource It!

Perhaps your team is made up primarily of those in the “tech sphere,” who have helped to build solid blockchain projects and have a thorough understanding of blockchain technology. However, your team may lack creative leadership and natural marketing skills and perhaps this is an area to seek outside expertise.

Third-party providers who manage crypto communities will already have the tools and expertise they need to do the job effectively. Additionally, and most importantly, they have access to the people you are trying to reach. These agencies can tap into the power of other crypto communities to build awareness for your project.

Join Telegram!

Telegram is a huge part of the crypto community. It serves as a communication hub and adds millions of new users every month. A pure instant messaging system, Telegram can create group chats for up to 30,000 members. It claims to be the most reliable instant messaging system ever made, working over even the weakest signals and connections. Telegram is also secure and encrypted. It is the ideal home for an online community and crypto users are already there and growing. Telegram can also serve as a sort of customer service center, to interact quickly with your community members and respond to concerns or issues.

Find and Attract Influencers

Influencers are big business already in social media and advertising and the same will hold true for the crypto community and ICOs. Digital “influence” spreads faster than tradition print influence (think celebrities peddling watches or colognes in magazines). Now influencers go well beyond the traditional celebrities we think of, such as actors and musicians. YouTube can and has turned many people into influencers, and we see this on sites such as Instagram as well. An influencer who will promote your ICO can attract a whole new community following for you!

If This Isn’t Your First Rodeo….

Repeat business is one of the most important functions of online advertising. How many times has a company reached out to you with a coupon or special offer after you have made a past purchase? Probably every time! If you have successfully launched crypto projects in the past, reach out to your community members to get them on board. One proven tactic is to give them “advance” notice, a sort of exclusive opportunity to get in on the ground floor. Your past community members are one of your greatest assets in terms of successfully launching an ICO, and don’t overlook how important it is to get them engaged in whatever new project you are launching.

Final Thoughts on Crypto Community Management

Building this community will not only give you a way to project how successful your launch will be, but it also creates a platform (especially through the use of Telegram) for managing inquiries and responding to community members. Crypto is not an “if you build it, they will come” industry. The only way to get people to show up for the sale (the ICO) is by building this interest and community yourself.